@Kela How is Chloe today?

I'd be an organic farmer near the Wai Koa Loop hiking trail on Kauai. I'd even be okay with living in a yurt over there. If not that, I'd work for Piet Oudolf who is a landscape magician.

You realize we are all sitting on tenterhooks waiting to hear... 😅

We called them franks and beans. I think it’s the same.

A little off tangent but this thread is making me think of Brutus the Bear, a member of the Anderson family until he died. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1174259/Meet-Brutus-800lb-grizzly-bear-likes-eat-meals-dinner-table.html The Andersons care for a few other bears now, including Bella. If you are ever around Bozeman, Montana, their educational facility is called Montana Grizzly Encounter. It’s a good way to learn about bears, their behavior, and what you can do to protect yourself. The bears are curious and entertaining, almost goofy, and are fun to watch. Of course, wild bears will be less familiar with humans so you’d want to be careful.

Many of my MIL’s friends and acquaintances eventually figured her out and did shun her. My husband and I eventually moved about 20 miles away to a different town to have some space. MIL was cared for until she died but it wasn’t easy. My mother, on the other hand, was a very different person and did not behave like my MIL at all. I can sum their differences up with the mottos each would often say: MIL: Yes them to death, then do what you want. My mom: Say what you mean and mean what you say. My MIL had good points, too, but she could be difficult.

My MIL would volunteer to help and then to get out of it, break things or just not help. I knew this because she’d tell me. An example: Her friend Paul asked if she would help clean his deceased mother’s house which had a lot of sentimental items, some pricey. She showed up to clean but actually wanted to sit and talk and then go out to eat so to get out of cleaning, while vacuuming, she purposely broke one of his mother’s vases that had sentimental value. Paul was then concerned that she might break more things, so he told her to sit on the sofa while he cleaned for a short period and then they talked and went out to eat. I knew this because she would later laugh about it while telling me what had really happened. It was a pattern of behavior for her and she would often tell me about the specific events.

What a sweetie your German Shepherd is. So protective. I hope Chloe starts gaining more, too. Maybe getting all that poop out will make it easier for her to fill up her belly. Hopefully tonight will be long feedings every time. 🙏🏼

I confess that I am a nut about putting things back in their proper places. My husband is the opposite. One time I found the deed to our house in between his underwear in the closet! When I asked him why it was there, he said he thought it was a good spot but he forgot he had put it there. lol He still tends to put things down absent mindedly and wherever. It’s just how he’s wired, I think. Luckily, I know where most of his hidey holes are now and our house is small, thankfully.

My MIL would boast about purposely messing up chores she had volunteered to do. With family, friends, charity groups. I mean, why volunteer? Just say no or don’t offer to help? She was like this with caring for children, too, so we rarely asked her to watch the kids because she was just not trustworthy and didn’t seem to like watching kids anyway. I always thought it was a form of passive aggressiveness or an inability to discuss or resolve differences. My kids did not purposely do poor work with chores but for some, it took a long time to get it down. For one of them, this was not until he moved out on his own and he had to deal with it himself. lol

We have beams and they go the short way. Maybe it’s just a matter of what looks good to you? I have recently been using the Houzz app to get opinions and advice for redecorating. It’s been very helpful. Plus free!

They make realistic looking faux beams that are made out of lightweight material. They look just like the real deal. Easy to put up and I don’t think they’re too pricey. I’ve seen them on Pinterest. Ikea cabinets used with Semihandmade cabinet fronts and fillers can look custom. Semihandmade also makes their own cabinet boxes now. $10-15,000 sounds about right, even with Ikea. I think you’ve found your house. Hoping you get it!

I have mad respect for all of you who care for kittens. From watching Kitten Lady’s YouTube channel, it looks like round the clock feedings for a period of time as well as many other duties. That’s so kind hearted of you all. 💕

What a cutie you have. I follow kitten caretaker Hannah, aka Kitten Lady, on her YouTube channel. She has a long video on kittens and poop problems. I don't know if it’s right for your kitten, but she also a short video showing how to give a constipated kitten an enema. https://youtu.be/odi6cRoBnUI If you need some tips for bottle feeding, she has videos explaining why some kittens have problems and how she handles them.

I did not know about their park for a penny deal! That’s a very smart idea. Lincoln Hotel also has a rooftop bar that might still be popular.

Evanston, Illinois, maybe. There are three co-op buildings just a few blocks at most from Northwestern U that are extremely friendly to lgbtq. All are inexpensive and taxes are too. It’s no big deal to see individuals who are trans in the city. It’s also not far from Chicago which has in the northern area, Andersonville and Boys Town neighborhoods, both very friendly also. Public transportation is very good. Howard Brown for health care and also another social place and resource center around North Avenue, both n Chicago.

You should go! Chicago has so much to do and amazing restaurants. I tend to lean toward the “be safe” side of things. Just ask my kids about cone snails and bears. lol If you ever want to go, I can give you some suggestions to consider and tell you how to get there, where to park, etc. Take it or leave it. Whatever suits you. It really is a fun city worth visiting and there are ways to do it while keeping costs down. That’s what most people do here, too! We certainly do.

It means something in the gay community, too. I’ve thought about getting a Hey Bear baseball cap and wearing it into Boys Town in Chicago. 😁

Yep. Nice and clean, I hear. Parking is included. I walked by it yesterday and it’s right across from the flagship McDonald's, the old Rock n Roll one.

Here is what I had read. It was from Northwestern University about a drug, tazemetostat, already being used for other cancers. They think it could be helpful for even aggressive and late stage. https://news.northwestern.edu/stories/2022/10/novel-treatment-effective-for-bladder-cancer-study-shows-in-mice/?fj=1 https://classic.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03854474?term=Etctn+10183&draw=2&rank=1 Science Daily had a number of interesting articles about new therapies as well. (Let me know if you'd like reference to the type of cancer removed.)

Here is some general advice from Hey Bear in Montana. They have more info at their site. https://www.heybear.com/blogs/news/fwp-reminder-be-bear-aware-when-recreating-outdoors One other thing to do when you get to your site is make sure previous campers didn't carelessly toss or leave behind anything a bear might enjoy eating.

Bears will eat all kinds of food. A few years ago in summer, a bear broke into a convenience store in the Big Sky ski resort in Montana, overnight when it was closed, and ate a whole bunch of frozen soy bars. I guess he found them to be quite tasty.

If you are interested, you can subscribe to specific Medscape newsletters, such as oncology, that are written in layman’s terms. They send out emails and if you’re interested in a topic, you just click on the title and it will take you to the article. The link below is a series of interviews that came out recently discussing the type of cancer your husband has. There might be something of interest to you. (I am happy to delete it if you’d like.) https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/970414?ecd=mkm_ret_230628_mscpmrk_onc_top-content_etid5576213&uac=428738CV&impID=5576213 I don’t follow your husband’s type of cancer specifically, but iirc, there have been some extremely promising treatments recently. I believe Medscape might have mentioned them. ?? A quick search might turn them up if you are so inclined. Anyway, I’m sorry about his diagnosis and hope everything will go more smoothly after the second surgery.

One of my sons majored in pure math and is now a trader and quant analyst for a market maker. He enjoys both the work and the people in his company. High schoolers can begin taking actuarial exams. My son that I mentioned above passed two in high school. Society of Actuaries has more info.

I don’t know about Going but we sometimes use Dollar Flight Club to find out about deals. They had a special offer when we signed up but I think they also offer some of their suggestions for free. Not sure. They’ve been pretty good.